Cream extractor



March 13, 1934. McWHITE HARNSBERGER 1,950,553

CREAM EXTRACTOR Filed July 30, 1932 lNVENTOR fir M17! fldrnsder yer ATTORN EY Patented Mar. 13, 1934 CREAM EXTRAGTOR McWhite Harnsberger, Upper Darby, Fa.

Application July 30, 1932, Serial No. 626,767

2 Claims.

This invention relates to household appliances and more particularly refers to improvements in siphoning devices, such as are used for siphon ing liquids out of bottles.

siphoning devices, especially suitable for removing cream from the top of milk bottles, are not in a broad sense new, devices of this character operating on various principles having been made before.

The device forming the subject of the present invention operates on the principle of first creating a pressure within the bottle, causing the liquid therein contained to rise within the siphoning tube and to be discharged thereby, and then admitting air to the inside of the bottle so as to cause the discharge of the liquid to continue by siphoning action.

A device operating on this principle generally consists of a disk or cap fitting the top of the bottle, so as to provide an air-tight closure, and a siphoning tube having one leg inserted through said disk or cap so as to project within the bottle and having a longer leg in continuation and bent downwardly from the upper end thereof for discharging the liquid to the outside of the bottle.

in order to provide means both for creating pressure within the bottle and to start the liquid discharge, and means for admitting air within the bottle after the discharge action has been started, the disk or cap portion has heretofore been made of flexible material and provided with an air vent. By forcing down the flexible disk or cap while the finger of the operator is pressed against the air vent, an air pressure is created within the bottle and air if prevented from escaping, so that the liquid within the bottle will start to rise through and be discharged from the siphoning tube. The siphoning action will continue if the finger is quickly removed from the air vent before the discharging action, due to pressure, ceases.

In practice, however, I have found that the operation of these devices is most unreliable, or at least that it only takes place if a good deal of attention is paid to the manner in which its functions are, controlled. Aside from the fact that the average housewife does not always realize the necessity of obstructing the air vent at the start, in order to initiate the discharging operation, I have found that even when proper attention is paid to this necessary detail, the liq uid discharge frequently ceases of its own accord before the siphoning action proper has a chance to take place.

The siphoning action proper will only take place in immediate continuation of the discharge under pressure if the finger is removed from the air vent immediately after the discharge under pressure has started. This is due to the fact that at best only a very limited amount of pressure can be created within the bottle by the deformation of a flexible or resilient disk extending across the top thereof, so that the liquid discharge caused by pressure is apt to last for but a very brief period of time. Unless the finger of the operator is removed from the air vent during the brief interval while the liquid is still flowing through the siphoning tube, no siphoning action will take place.

It is obvious that both the attention that must be paid to the proper operation of the device and the difficulties attending it, militate against'its practical value and sufliciently detract from its usefulness to nullify the advantages thatit would otherwise possess.

I have also found by experience that when a device of this character is used for removing cream from the top of milk bottles, the cream will stick to the inside of the tube and will stubbornly resist any attempt at cleansing it. Even strong alkaline solutions will at times fail to dislodge the particles of fat which remain adhering to the inner surfaces of the tube, so that the use of these devices is often objectionable from a sanitary standpoint.

The primary object of this invention is to provide, in a device of the character specified, an air vent arranged so that when the device is applied onto the top of a bottle it will automatically pre vent the escape of air in a quantity sufficient to interfere with the discharge of the liquid through the siphoning tube, without requiring the appli cation of the finger thereagainst, said air vent also automatically admitting air into the inside of the bottle immediately as the liquid flowing through the siphoning tube begins to create a depression therein.

Another object is to provide a device of-the character specified, consisting of a cap adapted for insertion over the top of a bottle, said cap being designed so as to automatically cause the pressure of the air within the bottle to rise merely by the act of forcing the cap itself down in position over the rim of the bottle top, without the necessity of subsequently causing the deformation of the cap top or disk. I

A further object is to provide a device for removing cream from the top of milk bottles, said device comprising a cap adapted to be forced down over the topof the bottle, thereby setting the air within the bottle under pressure, said cap being provided with an air vent preventing the escape of air in a quantity sufficient to interfere with the discharge of the liquid through a siphoning tube carried by said cap, and automatically admitting air within the bottle as soon as the liquid discharge through said tube begins to create a depression therein.

A still further object is to provide, in combina tion with a device for siphoning cream from the top of milk bottles, said device comprising a cap and a siphoning tube carried thereby, a flexible element permanently inserted through said tube, affording a convenient means for thoroughly cleansing the inner surface thereof, said flexible element being designed so as not to interfere with the normal flow of the liquid through said tube.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds and will be set forth and claimed in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a partly sectional view of a device embodying my invention, showing the same applied in position onto the top of a milk bottle; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates a milk bottle, 11 the body of milk within the bottle and 12 the body of cream, which is usually superimposed on the body of milk, said body of cream reaching up to a level in proximity of the top 13 of the bottle.

The top of the bottle is formed with a rim 14 in the usual manner, and the cap forming part of my device comprises a top 15 and a peripheral skirt or flange 16, depending therefrom. Said skirt or flange 16 is substantially cylindrical or slightly conical with a flaring mouth 1'7 and its inner diameter is such as to permit the cap of being easily inserted over rim 14 and to form therewith an air-tight closure for the bottle when the cap is pressed down a certain amount over it. The cap, or at least its skirt portion 16, is pref-- erably made of resilient material, such as rubber, in order to insure a tight closure while yielding to permit the cap to be pressed down in position.

The cap is provided with an opening 18, through which is inserted the shorter leg 19 of a siphoning tube, which also comprises a longer leg 20 integral with and bent downwardly from the upper end 21 of said leg 19, as shown at 22. The portion of the cap through which leg 10 is inserted is preferably formed with a lug 23, reinforcing at that point the top 15 of the cap and insuring a substantially vertical alignment of leg 19.

Said cap is also provided with an air vent 24, the distinguishing characteristic of which'is that its diameter is exceedingly small. When the cap carrying the siphoning tube is inserted over the top of bottle and is pressed down a certain amount after the skirt 16 has begun to make contact all around with rim 14, the air, contained in the space intervening between the inner surremains sufficiently high and the discharge will automatically continue thereafter because air vent 24 will permit air to enter the air space as soon as a depression occurs therein, due to the liquid still being discharged through the siphoning tube. The liquid discharge will, therefore, continue when the level of the liquid within the bottle reaches the lower end 25 of leg 19 of the siphoning tube.

It is, of course, possible to create pressure in the air space by first placing the cap in position and then forcing its top 15 inwardly, but a quicker and practically automatic action takes place if the skirt 16 is made in the manner advocated so as to permit the cap to be pressed down somewhat after said skirt has begun to make an air tight closure with the outer surface of the rim 14.

If desired, the shorter or inner leg of the siphoning tube can be provided with a graduation, such as shown at 26, enabling the user to approximately gauge the amount of cream extracted from the bottle.

As stated in the premises, my device is preferably equipped with means making it-possible to easily and thoroughly clean the inside of the siphoning tube. For example, the device may include a flexible wire 27, preferably made of rustless metal, such as stainless steeL-for instance; said wire being much longer than and being inserted through the siphoning tube so as toproject from both ends thereof.

The outer ends of the wire are formed with rings, such as 28, 29, permitting of pulling the wire through the tube in either direction, and midway of its length the wire is preferably formed with an elongated relatively narrow eye portion 30, throughwhich may be inserted a wad ofcotton or of steel wool, or other suitable material, said wad being adapted to fit snugly withinthe siphoning tube and to rub its inner surface when the wire is shifted back and forth, so as to remove whatever foreign matter should adhere to said surface.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the basic idea is to make the operation of the device foolproof by providing the same with means automatically maintaining the pressure exerted against the liquid for a lengthof time sufiicient to insure the start of the discharging operation, and automatically thereafter admitting air to the inside of the bottle before the discharging operation has had a chance to terminate. This result can also be obtained in ways different from that described.

I have thus made it apparent that I have provided a novel and improved siphoning device, which is simple and absolutely reliable in'its operation and which can be produced at relatively low cost.

The constructional details of my device may vary to some extent from those shown without departure from the inventive idea. The drawing, therefore, should be understood as being intended for illustrative purposes only and not in a limiting sense.

I accordingly reserve the right to carry my invention into practice in all those Ways and manners which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A siphon attachment for a liquid container of circular cross section, said attachment comprising a cap and a siphon tube extending therethrough for insertion into said container below the liquid level, said cap having a substantially cylindrical depending skirt portion adapted to to slidably engage the outer top portion of a liquid container of circular cross section in fluid tight relation therewith, said cap being movable on said top portion of the container to compress the air over the liquid in the container, a siphon tube extending through said cap for insertion into said container below the liquid level, and a vent in said cap sufliciently small to automatically retain in said container a siphon-starting pressure created when the cap is moved down on said top portion of the container.

McWHITE HARNSBERGER. 

